With 48 hours to go to the “Clean up the World weekend”, the ESG is satisfied that the four months of hard work and preparation appears to have paid off. Many from the community have attended meetings in the last two months where detailed planning has taken place in the temporary premises off John Mackintosh Square.

ESG can confirm that:

In Gibraltar there will be over 25 areas cleared of litter
Marine site to be cleaned by divers
Cliffs to be cleared by abseilers
Greening up of mound area at Europa by GONHS
Parade and Square event involving schools, dance group, NGO’s, clubs and associations, musicians and artists
Promotion of a conservation project of tree plaques produced by Westside students organised by ESG and GONHS

will be taking place.

Over 25 organisations and upwards of 100 registered volunteers will be involved in the clean ups.

Last minute volunteers will be allocated to sites that need people and will be advised accordingly at the final planning mtg tomorrow Friday, 16th Sept. at 8.00pm.

The ESG registered Gibraltar as a member of Clean up the World which now has support from over 100 countries and more than 30 million people. It is hoped that this will become an annual event in Gibraltar which will take less effort to set up next time now that the groundwork has been done by the ESG.

In inviting a cross section of the community to what is at first a clean up operation, but aims to bring along increased awareness and personal accountability for the impact on our environment, the ESG can confirm that support from the community has been astonishing. The only setbacks have arisen from the timing of the event which suits Australia’s seasons more than us in Europe with the summer months and start of a new school year immediately before the clean up weekend.

This event is important at a personal level because it increases the sense of having control over ones environment and of making a positive difference. Locally it will beautify and liberate green areas and coastal and marine environments which are habitually strewn with litter that should be disposed of in bins or appropriate waste collection points. Littering is quite a serious problem in Gibraltar as it is in other parts of the world.

The weekend will also hopefully focus on the lack of recycling in Gibraltar which the ESG regrets is still not in place in spite of repeated confirmations by the licensed company that this would begin this summer.

It is not enough to expect companies or authorities to clean up after us all the time. Perhaps not enough is being done in some cases and attention needs to be given to these matters so they too can be solved.

 The Clean up the World 2005 is dedicating this year to cleaning up and greening up our cities. It is clear that in a world that is quickly becoming urbanised with almost 50% of global population living in urban areas, that the need to control environmental impact is ever more critical.

The need therefore of a proactive agenda at every level and not only compliance with legislation is called for.

A clean and healthy environment is essential for our immediate quality of life and long term survival. Small steps like clean up the world will in time help us take the bigger but essential steps to a more sustainable way of life. Trouble is we need to do this with some degree of urgency.

This Clean up the World weekend will be the first of many and the ESG is confident that weather permitting a real, positive difference will be made!